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Timonae (Classic Journeys Era)
The Timonae are a rather free-living race with a knack for gambling and troublemaking. They are cousins of the Mystics that abide on the planet Antimone. Many found their way into Kretonian slave camps during the occupation, but the Timonae persevered, and welcomed the day the Nall came to crush their captors. Now, in the aftermath of the holy war launched by the Kretonians against the Mystics - coming as it did after the Mystics had lost their world to a supernova - the tables have now turned. Most Timonae these days feel pity for their more psionically gifted brethren, who have lost just about everything over the centuries. __TOC__ From TimonaeFest The roguish Timonae are an offshoot of the Val Shohobian Mystics - known as the Sundered Ones - who gave up the "higher calling" and the heightened psionic gifts of the Mystics in favor of the pursuit of the here and now. The idea of mating for life, for example, is alien to a Timonae. Bonding with another is a perpetually renegotiable contract. Their approach to life ranges from pragmatic to cynical. They do what they must to get by, and don't mind using what remains of their ancient talents to accomplish it. Although they used to bear great animosity toward the Mystics who exiled their ancestors, the Timonae have grown more tolerant - and actually learned to pity their Mystic brethren, who lost their homeworld and were nearly exterminated by the Kretonians and Centaurans. They tend to live in the moment, and don't place much value on material things. They cherish friendships - brief as they may be - and they wander from experience to experience, absorbing them. They also enjoy taking risks - so, it's probably a good thing Timonae are preternaturally lucky. Their likely careers include merchants, fortune tellers, actors, pilots, singers, storytellers. Examples of Timonae names include Garys Galar, Niesa Galar, Xavin Carazz, Askeboz Kaaz, Orandius Jaxx, Terestin Sondrix. Notes on Appearance Timonae, like their Mystic brethren, have silver hair and olive skin (closer to brown than green). Their eyes are opalescent; that is, they have a uniform, lustrous sheen, and lack distinction between iris and pupil. Timonae usually have green or violet eyes. They usually average around seven feet in height, with females in the upper sixes and males in the lower to mid sevens. Partly contributing to their racial stereotype as rogues and pickpockets are the construction of their digits: they have four joints on each finger and toe rather than three, meaning longer and more dextrous fingers (and toes!). Notes on Cultural Stereotypes Timonae women are often pigeon-holed as the sex kittens of the universe: Timonese drinks like the Naughty Nymph, Saucy Sprite, and Happy Dryad are legendary for aphrodesiac properties. Timonese women are often assumed by non-Timonese to be prostitutes, and if not, at least indiscriminate in selection and quantity of sexual partners. This is a cause of frustration to female Timonese professionals trying to pursue offplanet careers in everything from medicine to politics to starfaring, but it's also indicative of a misunderstanding of Timonese culture. Indeed, sex trades are prolific on the Timonese homeworld of Antimone, as are gambling and drug sales and manufacture (since just about all substances are unregulated on Antimone, it does not count as trafficking). Timonese culture is very individually deterministic, and has fewer inhibitions on sexuality - and most other things in general - than non-Kamiroid races, but this has a tendency to become fetishized by the non-Timonae observer. As with anything, just because you *can* do or be something does not mean you always *will* be or *have* to be. Similarly hyperbolized are the stereotypes of the Timonae as thief and criminal. There are Timonese thieves - and there is a bustling Timonae underworld, due in no small part to the steady flow of tourists coming to New Valsho looking to indulge in vices, that generates a whole bevy of Timonese criminals - but there are also Timonese businessmen, poets, musicians, soldiers, and philosophers. The same seat-of-the-pants, high-risk attitude towards life that can mean high yields for a Timonese crook can also bring in profits for a lucky Timonese CEO, fame for a poet, or victory for a soldier. Timonese are known for their luck and "charm," but they are just as intellectually advanced as other Kamiroid races as well. Timonae